The Maple Leafs lost 5-3 to the New York Islanders at UBS Arena on Thursday. The team has a day off on Friday.
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Artur Akhtyamov allowed five goals on 44 shots and took the loss in his first NHL start on Thursday night in New York, but the rookie goalie was smiling throughout his post-game media session.
Asked if he had a favourite moment from the night, the Russian couldn’t pick just one.
“Every moment [was] my favourite,” Akhtyamov said. “Yeah, I remember this game all my life.”
With Anthony Stolarz sustaining an injury early in Wednesday’s outing and Joseph Woll playing most of the game against the Washington Capitals, the door opened for Akhtyamov to be called up and face the Islanders.
“It feels unbelievable,” the 24-year-old said. “Like, my first game, I’m so excited and that’s a good experience for me.”
Any nerves?
“Not really,” he said. “Just maybe right before the game.”
Akhtyamov noted that a 10-minute relief appearance against Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers back in December helped prepare him for this moment.
And Akhtyamov didn’t really have any time to be nervous on Thursday. The Islanders fired 24 shots in the first period.
“I like when I busy,” Akhtyamov said, shrugging off the workload.
Before the game, Leafs coach Craig Berube called on his players to dig in to protect the young netminder. So, was Akhtyamov surprised to face such a barrage?
“No,” he said. “I’m a goalie and that’s my work. I was ready. I was ready.”
Akhtyamov allowed two goals in the opening frame and somehow the Leafs escaped down just 2-1.
“We kind of left Arty out to dry, giving up that many shots,” admitted winger Steven Lorentz. “We didn’t really give him much of a chance. But he looked calm. He looked confident. He made some saves when he was moving side to side and he just looked like he felt comfortable.”
Akhtyamov, who was selected by the Leafs in the fourth round of the 2020 draft, has been trending up all season. He has a .903 save percentage in 36 games with the Toronto Marlies and represented the team in the American Hockey League All-Star Game.
“It’s my second season here [in North America] and this season I play more games and this really helps me,” Akhtyamov said. “I feel more, like, I don’t know how to say.”
Reporters suggested “comfortable.”
“More comfortable, yeah,” Akhtyamov said. “And also we have a good team with Marlies and we clinched playoffs.”
That was the only time Akhtyamov asked for help in answering 13 questions.
When fellow Leafs goalie prospect Dennis Hildeby got a run in the NHL earlier this season, Akhtyamov watched the Swede’s media sessions and told Marlies staff he wanted to work on doing interviews and learn how to handle scrums in a similar way.
Akhtyamov seems to be embracing everything that comes his way.
“He’s just got a good energy to him,” said Leafs centre John Tavares. “Always got a smile on his face and just enjoys being around the group.”
“He’s quiet and has a good positive attitude,” observed defenceman Morgan Rielly. “I thought he looked great. He seemed calm and collected before the game. So, kudos to him on a great night.”
‘Remember this game all my life’: Leafs’ Akhtyamov ‘feels unbelievable’ in first NHL start Artur Akhtyamov allowed five goals on 44 shots while making his first NHL start on Thursday. Despite losing to the Islanders, the 24-year-old Russian smiled throughout his post-game media session and said the game was one he would remember for the rest of his life
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Akhtyamov was excited to go up against one of his idols on Thursday and actually finished with a better save percentage (.886) than countryman Ilya Sorokin (.813).
“He was one of my favourite goalies when I was younger,” Akhtyamov said. “I watched his game when he was in KHL and when he moved here. I was so excited to play against him.”
Sorokin appeared to be off his game Thursday, but the Leafs only tested the Vezina Trophy contender with 16 shots.
Toronto struggled to match New York’s intensity to start the game.
“They have lots to play for,” Rielly noted. “They came out hard. We knew they were going to. Being down 2-1 after the first, I thought we were in a decent spot all things considered. But they came out playing hard. They have a lot on the line with playoffs.”
With the win, the Islanders moved within one point of the Philadelphia Flyers in the race for the third and final playoff spot in the Metropolitan Division.
New York was also playing their first game since Peter DeBoer replaced Patrick Roy as head coach.
“That’s a desperate hockey team and that’s a team that just wanted to pepper us,” Lorentz said. “I’m sure they knew that there was a kid in net who it was his first NHL game … Guys are going to fire pucks from everywhere so that’s what they did. You got to tip your caps to them. We just didn’t have the energy that they brought.”
As has been the case most of the season, the Leafs could not move the puck effectively up ice.
“We didn’t recover pucks and make a play to get out of there, so we got hemmed in a little bit too much,” Berube said. “I thought we settled in. Scored a PP goal and got ourselves back in the game, and then we got into penalty trouble. That’s really the bottom line.”
‘Didn’t really give him much of a chance’: Leafs hang rookie goalie Akhtyamov out to dry The Leafs did not provide Artur Akhtyamov much support early in Thursday’s game as the playoff-hungry Islanders peppered the rookie goalie, who was making his first NHL start, with 24 shots in the first period. “We kind of left Arty out to dry,” admitted Steven Lorentz. “We didn’t really give him much of a chance.”
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The Islanders scored their first goal in 6-on-5 play with a delayed call coming against the Leafs.
New York ended up getting five power plays in the game and struck twice, including on a two-man advantage in the third period.
With Rielly already in the box for hooking Marc Gatcomb, Lorentz was whistled for slashing Matthew Scahefer.
“I didn’t like the 5-on-3 call at all,” Berube said. “I think it’s weak.”
Veteran defenceman Oliver Ekman-Larsson was so annoyed that he received a misconduct for protesting.
“He smashed his stick on the boards, and they gave him a 10,” Berube said.
Lorentz tried to get an explanation from referee Francois St. Laurent after watching Cal Ritchie score to put the Islanders up 5-2, which all but ended Toronto’s comeback chances.
“I wasn’t a big fan of that,” said Lorentz, who has only taken seven penalties in 68 games this season. “That play happens a lot, and I don’t think I really knocked [the stick] out of his hands. He was kind of releasing the puck through a shot and when I hit his stick it just kind of came off funny.
“I had a word with [St. Laurent] afterwards and just wanted to see what his thoughts on it were. I let him know what I thought and we just kind of agreed to disagree. There’s not much else to be said about that. When you hit a guy on the hands it’s a penalty at the end of the day. I just thought with the way the game was being called, you know, we’re shorthanded, it’s a close game, I thought that one may not have been a penalty, but it was and so be it. He had his reasons and it’s fine.”
Ekman-Larsson received misconduct as Leafs fumed about ‘weak’ call that put them down two men After Steven Lorentz received a slashing penalty, which put the Leafs down two men in the third period on Thursday, Oliver Ekman-Larsson smashed his stick at the bench in protest. The veteran defenceman was assessed a misconduct.
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In the second period, Schaefer walked in and beat Akhtyamov with a five-hole shot.
“I was just unlucky,” Akhtyamov said with a grin. “But, yeah, he shoot pretty strong. Yeah, he’s a good player.”
That’s an understatement. The goal was Schaefer’s 23rd, which tied Brian Leetch for the most ever by a rookie defenceman.
“He’s an elite player,” Berube said. “I don’t know if I’ve seen too many guys with that ability and the skating ability he has. The way he can cut back and work his edges, and his release on his shot is elite. He’s an elite player at 19 years old or whatever he is, 18. He is a good one, and he is going to be a great player for a long time.”
Matthew Schaefer said Oliver Ekman-Larsson congratulated him on tying the rookie record for goals by a defenseman during a stoppage.
“He’s like, ‘I had 23 goals one season. I don’t know if you were born yet.’”
Ekman-Larsson did it in 2014-15. Schaefer would’ve been 7.
— Peter Baugh (@Peter_Baugh) April 10, 2026
Schaefer, who was the first-overall pick in last year’s draft, will not turn 19 until September.
Fans were chanting his name when he scored and then again after the game.
“Rightfully so,” Islanders forward Brayden Schenn told TSN. “It’s just incredible to see. Everyone maybe thinks he’s an offensive guy who puts up numbers, but he defends just as hard. It’s not the player that guys really root for, it’s the person. He’s an incredible person, an incredible kid who everyone loves around our dressing room.”
The Talking Point: Is Schaefer already on path to all-time greatness? New York’s Matthew Schaefer sits third in rookie scoring with 23 goals and 59 points, and is 13th overall in defenceman scoring in the NHL. All this while being only 18-years-old. Is Schaefer already on path to all-time greatness? TSN Director of Scouting Craig Button shares his thoughts.
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Leafs rookie Luke Haymes also showed promise on Thursday in making his NHL debut.
“Honestly, I think I played well because I just didn’t think a whole lot,” the 22-year-old centre from Ottawa said. “My legs were there because the adrenaline was pumping and [got the] first game jitters out of the way quick. I did a good job of getting in on the forecheck and trying to create stuff for my linemates.”
Haymes’ work on the forecheck created Toronto’s first goal by Lorentz.
Haymes picked up an assist after his faceoff win over Mathew Barzal led to Rielly’s third-period goal.
“He’s a mature, young man,” said Rielly, who trained alongside Haymes in Toronto during the summer. “I thought he handled himself great before the game, seemed calm and collected. He played a good style of game. Like, he plays a good, responsible, 200-foot game. I thought he was great.”
Haymes landed one shot on net and hit the post on another attempt. He logged 12 minutes and 36 seconds and finished the night plus-one.
What was his welcome-to-the-NHL moment?
“Honestly, just being in the room with the guys,” said Haymes, who signed with the Leafs out of Dartmouth College last year. “A lot of big names in here and guys who have worked really hard to be where they are, and to be in the room with them and just share a moment of a NHL game was just really cool.”
Haymes found out he would be playing on Wednesday and had his parents and siblings in the crowd cheering him on.
“I have two older brothers and I wouldn’t be in this spot without them,” Haymes said. “All the nights on the [outdoor rink] with them and working out with them a bunch when I was younger. I want to thank them along with all my former coaches, mentors, my advisor Michael O’Rafferty and a whole lot of other people who helped me get here.”
Haymes on key to strong NHL debut with Leafs: ‘I didn’t think a whole lot’ Luke Haymes picked up his first NHL point in his first NHL game on Thursday. “Honestly, I think I played well because I just didn’t think a whole lot,” the 22-year-old Leafs centre said. Haymes was grateful to have his parents and two older brothers in the crowd.
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Dakota Joshua sustained an upper-body injury on Wednesday and the winger is likely done for the season, Berube said.
Stolarz was due to get some imaging done on his lower-body injury on Friday. Ditto for defenceman Brandon Carlo, who also sustained a lower-body injury on Wednesday.
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Leafs lines to start Thursday’s game:
Cowan – Tavares – Nylander
Maccelli – Domi – Knies
Lorentz – Haymes – Robertson
Pezzetta – Quillan – Jarnkrok
Rielly – Myers
McCabe – Ekman-Larsson
Benoit – Stecher
Akhtyamov
Woll
